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Must Read in 2015 Spring Update

I'm
distressed!

I thought
I didn't have to report out on the progress of my must read list for another
month. I've been coasting along thinking to myself, I'm only a wee bit behind
schedule. I can easily catch up. Then Carrie Gelson at There's a Book for That tweeted that THE TIME HAD COME.

So here
we are, three months into the year, and I have only finished thirteen of the fifty nine books
on my list. By my reckoning, to be on track, I should have completed at least fifteen! I take solace in
the words of James Stevenson, it Could Be Worse!

Of the ones I've finished, I've given eight a five star rating. It is to be expected
though, because they don't get on my list unless they received effusive
accolades to begin with.

I
don't know that any of these jump out at me except for This Journal
Belongs to Ratchett by Nancy J Cavanaugh. It is exquisitely written
for sure, but it might pop out because it's the one I just finished.

I made deep personal connections to The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern, but aside from that, I still
think it is one of those perfect middle novels that will make anyone weep.

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch's novel, Dance of the Banished, was powerful not just because of her memorable
characters, but also for what I learned about the Armenian genocide in the
First World War and Canadian internment camps at the time.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue,the latest in Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Boys series, is
filled with characters I can't wait to spend time with again.

I'm almost done The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. This will take my finished number up to fourteen books. It has won many awards including the Newbery, but I'm still trying to figure out if I'll give this one five stars.

I'm heading out of town for Easter and bringing plenty of books with me to read: Greenglass House by Kate Milford, The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, X a Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz, and a few other books including Finding Kate by Becky Citra; a title that is getting lots of love from our book club group. In addition, I've just picked up the audiobook, Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier from the library.

All in all, it's been a very fine reading year
so far. I swear I'll be caught up on my to read list by the end of April for
absolute certain.

4 comments:

Wow, 13 titles is terrific progress! I created my list and then promptly forgot about it. When I saw Carrie's tweet I thought oh no, I won't have read a single title on my list. Was pleasantly surprised to have read 3 and quickly started a 4th though I couldn't quite finish in time (Under the Egg--mixed feelings about that one). Still, 3 out of 31 is really not setting me up for much success! This Journal Belongs to Ratchet isn't on my list but it is at the top of my TBR pile! Hope to get to it soon. Happy reading!

You have read some incredible titles. Maggie is on my nightstand and I am seeing so much love for it today so very excited to begin. Bea is also a This Journal Belongs to Ratchet fan. Have you two talked about this book? You could do another update in a month! I'd be happy to read it :-)

Maggie is such a heartbreaking book Carrie. Most especially for children like Maggie and me who lived in a family experiencing an ongoing crisis. Bea and I have not had much more than a few words about The Journal. We both love it. Talk about mentor text, this has it in spades!

About Me

Across my teaching career I have taught combinations of mixed age groupings from kindergarten to grade 5. I was an ESL teacher for a number of years and am now a teacher librarian at Charles Dickens Elementary School in Vancouver, B.C.